Cullingworth nestles in Yorkshire's wonderful South Pennines and I have the pleasure and delight to be the village's Conservative Councillor. But these are my views - on politics, food, beer and the stupidity of those who want to tell me what to think or do. And a little on mushrooms.

Monday, 4 May 2015

Why farmers won't be voting Labour...

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I've commented before how without EU subsidy and the benefits system we wouldn't have much of a farming business - or at least the sort of farming business us townies like to gawp at on Countryfile. Yes there are some rich farms with million pound plus incomes but the average farm income (that's farm income not farmer income remember) isn't anything close to that.

Still Labour politicians think farmers are nasty people who want to kill badgers and chase vermin like faxes off their land - so they're fair game for policy attack. And it's right between the eyes of some of the country's lowest earners:

The thing that is far more likely to sway farmers is a new Labour policy that has received scant publicity. This is the policy to remove the agricultural exemption from business rates for farm land and buildings and, effectively to tax farms in the UK as if they were out of town shopping centres. If implemented, this policy would have the immediate effect of reducing the average farming income in Britain from £46,635 (in 2012/13) to £40,137 overnight. That is a drop of 14%. It would affect some of the poorest workers in the country who are least able to afford it.

The Labour Party is happy to celebrate townies trampling all over someone else's land without a by-your-leave, to treat the farmed countryside as if it's some sort of playground for urban public sector workers with £200 boots and £500 anoraks. And to screw over the farmer.